


what do you give when you have nothing left? (i've got time, baby, all i've got for you is time)

by namedawesome (davethetennant)



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: Babysitting, Break Up, F/M, Gen, Hellhounds, Pillow & Blanket Forts, Protective Chloe Decker, Protective Lucifer, Sad Lucifer Morningstar (Lucifer TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 22:43:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16168328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/davethetennant/pseuds/namedawesome
Summary: There was a knock on the door and Chloe smiled before turning back to her daughter and partner. “Okay, Monkey, be good for Lucifer! And thanks again, Lucifer, really,” she smiled gently at him as she opened the door. “Behave, both of you!” she said playfully before she left, Marcus Pierce at her side.As the door closed behind her, both Lucifer and Trixie sighed moodily at the same time. With no complaints, Lucifer carried her around the to the front of the couch and sat. They were quiet for a long, long while, until Trixie said softly and with a pout, “My tummy hurts, but in a sad way, not a sick way.”





	what do you give when you have nothing left? (i've got time, baby, all i've got for you is time)

**Author's Note:**

> So this got out of control? It was supposed to be 5k tops, but here we are at about 9k... 
> 
> Also, by now we should all know how much i love breaking up Chloe and Marcus... And pining Lucifer soooo yeah... 
> 
> Enjoy!

Lucifer knocked on the door to the Detective's home and walked right in as he usually did. He offered a small smile in the direction of the Spawn as she looked up from her place on the couch. Her face lit up and she greeted him with his name happily as she always had. 

At that moment, the Detective appeared wearing a dress, a beautiful light pink dress, and she looked so stunning that he stopped breathing for a moment.

“You look really pretty, Mommy!” Trixie said, smiling at her mother.

Chloe grinned, “Thank you, Monkey!” She turned to Lucifer, who was staring at her slack jawed, something akin to awe in his eyes. “Hey, thanks for watching her,” she said, trying not to blush as he stared at her.

He visibly flinched like she'd struck him as he came back to himself. “Yes, of course, Detective. I did promise,” he said, trying to look anywhere but at her, even in her direction, but he failed. His eyes trailed over her like he was terrified he'd never see her again, like if she left now he would break. He shook himself out of his stupor and sighed like he was giving in to something inevitable. “Chloe,” he began (and her breath didn't catch at him saying her name, it didn't), “you look beautiful tonight, darling…” 

She stuttered out a ‘thank you’ as he turned to her daughter. “What about me?” Trixie asked. “Do I look beautiful?” She was hanging her arms over the back of the couch, smiling at them.

Lucifer huffed, crossing his arms, “Of course you do! You are your mother's daughter, after all.” Trixie grinned at him and stretched her arms out towards him for a hug. He wrinkled his nose in her direction before finally conceding with a giant sigh. She scrambled onto the back of the couch as he stepped forwards, wrapping her arms around his neck as soon as he was close enough. She didn't let go, which meant he had to carry her if he was going to move, so he didn't because he would never. He's the Devil, he doesn't carry children around.

There was a knock on the door and Chloe smiled before turning back to her daughter and partner. “Okay, Monkey, be good for Lucifer! And thanks again, Lucifer, really,” she smiled gently at him as she opened the door. “Behave, both of you!” she said playfully before she left, Marcus Pierce at her side.

As the door closed behind her, both Lucifer and Trixie sighed moodily at the same time. With no complaints, Lucifer carried her around the to the front of the couch and sat. They were quiet for a long, long while, until Trixie said softly and with a pout, “My tummy hurts, but in a sad way, not a sick way.”

“Yes, mine does too,” he replied just as quietly. He pulled away from her enough to see her face, her brow was furrowed and unconsciously he did something his mother used to for him, for all of his siblings, when they were upset. He traced the furrow in her brow down to the tip of her nose, across her cheek under her eye, and down the side of her face all in one quick, soft motion with the tip of his finger. He knew it meant something, something meaningful, powerful, but he couldn't for the life of him remember what. Her brow smoothed over and he pulled her close again. 

He remembered that the Detective had told him he would need to make sure her daughter ate before going to bed, and that since it was a weekend, bedtime was at 10:30, instead of 8:30. “Are you hungry, darling?” he asked softly.

She nodded against him and asked, “Can we have tomato soup and grilled cheese? Because we’re sad?”

He told her that they could, and she refused to be put down, so he had to carry her around as he prepared dinner (there was a moment where he sat her on the counter to remove his suit jacket but not to roll up the sleeves of his shirt (“You should never put creases in a shirt this expensive, Spawn.”), before picking her up again). They ate quietly, Trixie occasionally telling him what happened at school and him telling her about anything she wished to know (even the “silly things” her mother wouldn't tell her). She managed a few smiles before they finished eating, which he thought was good, at least he could make one Decker woman happy.

“We need movies and cuddles now,” she told him as she leaned against his side while he was washing the dishes.

“Why on earth would we need those?” he asked, brow furrowing in confusion.

“Lucifer, that's what s’posed to happen when you're sad!” she told him in her kindest voice because she knew he really didn't know. Her mom had told her that when Lucifer was a kid, his parents hadn't always been nice to him, and definitely didn't give him enough cuddles, which she was trying to help him with. She felt like she was helping him, anyway. She mostly thought that he thought that she was just trying to make him sticky.

He raised a brow at her in disbelief, but scooped her into his arms after he'd dried his hands. She made sure they were snuggled together (her lying on his chest and him lying back against the armrest of the couch) before quickly finding a movie on Netflix ( _Hercules_ ). She rested her head on his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart as the title sequence began. Right before the movie truly began, she felt him trace her nose and cheek like he had earlier, but with his thumb this time, and she smiled softly feeling safe and protected.

They watched in relative quiet, her laughter the only sound in the room besides the movie. When that one was over, she begged him to watch another one with her (“Please? It's only 9, Lucifer! Please, please, please?”) to which he relented rather reluctantly.

As the Spawn watched her second movie ( _Finding Dory_ ), Lucifer let his mind wander. He was relaxed now, he was even rubbing the little urchin’s back as she cuddled him, but he was still sad, even. He knew why he was sad, but felt he didn't have the right to be. Chloe was happy with Marcus, she wanted Marcus, so he should be happy for her. And yet… 

Lucifer closed his eyes, sighing deeply, unknowingly mirroring the little girl cuddling with him. After a while, he noticed that she had fallen asleep and that she’d stopped rubbing the cloth of his shirt between her fingers. He didn't have the heart or the energy to move her, so he just laid there with her, their eyes closed and breathing soft. 

He let himself be lulled into a light doze, only waking when he heard a key turn in the lock. The end credits of the movie were half finished, but he didn't move from where he was. 

A weight settled on the couch at his hip, and Chloe whispered his name as she brushed his hair away from his forehead, not wanting to wake her daughter. He opened his eyes and took her in, still just as beautiful as when she’d left earlier in the night. He caught movement behind her, and focused briefly on Marcus frowning at him. His eyes dropped and he hugged the little girl tighter to him. He wanted to scream at Marcus that these two humans belonged to him first.

“Lucifer,” the Detective said, catching his attention. 

He hummed in question, and leaned his head to the side to check on his charge as Chloe asked if Trixie was okay. The urchin was still asleep, but her brow was furrowed again. Absently, he traced her nose and cheek again, as he answered, “She's alright, darling.”

Chloe’s eyebrows drew together and he resisted tracing her features like he’d been doing for her daughter the whole night. “But it looks like you guys had soup and grilled cheese,” she told him, her hand meeting his as she rested it on her daughter's back. Trixie only wanted soup and grilled cheese when she had a bad day or was sad or was feeling sick.

“The Spawn said she was sad,” Lucifer told her. Chloe’s frown deepened and Lucifer rushed to clear it from her face, “She said movies and cuddles would help…”

“She was fine when I left,” she mused.

Marcus chose that moment to ask (read: accuse), “What did you say to her, Lucifer? What made her sad?”

Lucifer looked Marcus up and down with distaste. “I didn't say anything,” he said, softly because of the child sleeping on his chest, yet with a hint of steel. “She told me her stomach hurt in a ‘sad way’ not long after you'd left. She asked for soup,” he aimed the latter part towards the Detective.

She nodded, accepting his answer at face value, like she usually would (anything to do with him being the Devil was usually treated in a completely different way). She offered to take her daughter off of his hands, but he just got up and carried the little girl to bed.

She stirred as he set her down, saying his name sleepily, showing him just how much she trusted him by settling back to sleep immediately as he traced her nose and cheek again. The gesture already an instantaneous reaction to any unrest or upset she might feel.

“Sleep, dearest heart,” he whispered as she shuffled around in her bed in that way that sleepy children had. As soon as she stilled, he placed a kiss to the side of her head and stood reluctantly, like he didn't want to leave the Detective or her daughter in the hands of the first murderer.

When he turned to leave the room, the Detective was standing in the doorway, watching him and her daughter with soft eyes. She ushered him out of the room, and said, “Thanks for watching her, I know you don't really like kids…”

Lucifer smiled, more of a small, sad smirk and he said, “I've grown quite fond of yours, actually…” He stood there for a long moment, just staring at her, and then Marcus cleared his throat loudly and Lucifer flinched, barely noticeable, but he knew Chloe had seen it. Heaving a sigh, he said his goodbyes to them, refusing to let his eyes linger on the Detective no matter how much they wanted to.

×××

Lucifer sat in his armchair at his penthouse, a glass of top shelf whiskey in his hand, staring into nothing. His brow was furrowed and he didn't move when the elevator opened, depositing his brother in front of him.

“Lucifer?” Amenadiel asked, breaking the other man’s concentration. He had been talking for a while (lecturing Lucifer about Cain and his mark and “making father angry”) and finally noticed that Lucifer hadn't been listening to a word he'd said.

“Do you remember when we were little and whenever we were upset mother would touch our face?” Lucifer asked softly, brow still furrowed.

Amenadiel smiled sadly. “Yeah, yeah, the nose and down the cheek,” he looked at Lucifer and smiled, less sad this time, like he expected his brother to be happily reminiscing with him.

“What did she used to say? She always used to say something when she did it…” Lucifer sighed, brow still furrowed.

“It was Enochian,” Amenadiel replied. Lucifer gave him a look (one that said ‘oh really, brother, was it?’) and Amenadiel rolled his eyes. “Something to the effect of ‘I am your guardian, as long as you need me to be’ I think.” Lucifer nodded slowly. Amenadiel finally noticed that something was wrong with his brother. “Luci, are you alright?”

“I was watching Beatrice tonight,” Lucifer said, finally taking a sip from his glass. “She was upset, and I… I did what mother used to do for us, for her.”

Amenadiel’s eyes widened. “Brother, you…”

“I didn't even think about it,” Lucifer said, mostly to himself. Then he made himself focus on his brother. “What are you doing here this late anyway, Brother? Don't you have a bedtime because you're a good little Angel?”

Amenadiel rolled his eyes; at least Lucifer would always be Lucifer.

×××

Chloe watched Marcus with Trixie. He was kind and considerate towards her daughter, but it felt like their interactions were stilted. Forced. He talked to her like she was a child. She could tell that Trixie was annoyed by it. She was trying to play as far away as possible from the man and didn't seem to want to interact with him. Like she didn't trust him and that made Chloe nervous.

Lucifer popped into her peripheral vision, four ice cream cones in his hands. He handed one to her (mint chocolate chip), and whistled loudly in the direction of the other two. Chloe watched her daughter's face light up at the sound. Trixie breaking away from Marcus’s hold easily and running straight for Lucifer, arms wrapping around his waist. 

“Really, Spawn,” he sighed, but Chloe could tell his heart wasn't in it. He managed to extract himself from her and hand the child her cone, her favorite ice cream: chocolate birthday cake with sprinkles. She leaned her back against the front of his legs, and started to eat her treat happily (and how he smoothed her hair back out of her face was just… Chloe couldn't handle him sometimes). The ease that Trixie had with Lucifer was apparent to anyone around them.

He proffered the vanilla cone towards Marcus, who took it with a smile. “How’d you know it was my favorite?” he asked, smirking a little.

“Oh, I can always tell,” Lucifer said, earning an elbow to the side from Chloe. She knew he didn't mean ice cream, and could tell exactly what he meant by getting vanilla ice cream for the other man. Lucifer’s eyes met hers unapologetically, twinkling with innuendo and mischief, as he took a long lick from his own cone (coffee and caramel) and slipped his other hand to rest on the small of her back. 

Rolling her eyes she took hold of his wrist and brought his ice cream cone to her lips. She hummed in satisfaction at the taste. “I want that next time,” she told him, ignoring his huff about how unfair it was for her to steal his ice cream. She felt eyes on her and turned, meeting Marcus’s frowning face. She sent him a questioning look but he just kept frowning at her. 

“Lucifer, when we're done can you help me do the big monkey bars?” Trixie asked from where she was leaned against him.

Lucifer blinked. “Aren't they just taller than the regular ones? You can do those all by yourself, can't you?” his nose wrinkled in confusion.

Trixie looked down and fiddled with the napkin Lucifer had made sure to hand her. “Well, yeah but they're longer too…” she sighed. “But… they're really, really tall and I don't wanna fall. And you'll catch me if I do, right?”

Instead of sighing and telling her daughter no, like she half expected him too, he traced a finger along her nose and face like he had the last time he'd been with her and he said, “Alright, but you wash your hands before we do this. Burberry, you know.” He gestured to the suit he was wearing, making Trixie grin.

They finished their cones, Lucifer handing the last bit to Chloe, knowing the end of the cone was her favorite (and it had become habit, he never asked anymore, just gave it to her), and went to wash their hands. Chloe popped it into her mouth, chewing, the coffee-caramel taste made her smile, it really was a great combination. She could feel Marcus’s eyes on her still, but she watched Lucifer with her daughter. They were talking, she couldn't tell what about, but she watched the easiness they had with each other. As her daughter started across the bars, she remembered his and Trixie’s first meeting. How her daughter was immediately at ease with the man, how, upon the second time meeting him, she’d hugged him and had let herself be picked up by him. She remembered how she had never been afraid to let him near her daughter, had never been nervous about Trixie being near him. 

She remembered being nervous as Marcus led Trixie over to the playground earlier that day. She remembered watching the both of them like a hawk, feeling Lucifer come up beside her but not turning in his direction, her fingers brushing against his in acknowledgment. She remembered the relief she felt that he was there, and when he suggested getting them all ice cream she could only nod, glad for the excuse to call her daughter back to her. 

“What was that earlier?” Marcus asked, voice gruff and annoyed. 

“What was what?” she asked, watching her daughter's grip on the bars slipping. Lucifer grabbed her before she could fall and then they were back in line ready to try again. 

“The ice cream,” he said. 

Frowning, she replied, “Lucifer offered to buy us ice cream. It was nice of him.”

“No, you licked his cone,” Marcus said, frown deepening. “Like it was habit or normal.”

Chloe blinked at him. She opened her mouth to speak and closed it abruptly. “He always gets a different flavor,” she explained. At his look of disbelief, she frowned. “He always gets a different flavor, and I always try it, because it's good to try new things.” He just stared at her and she looked away from him, eyes finding her daughter and Lucifer almost immediately. “Lucifer and I are friends,” she said. “He let me have a bite of his ice cream because I wanted to try it, end of story.”

“You didn't even ask him!” Marcus exclaimed. “And why was he standing so close to you?”

“Lucifer isn't aware of other people's personal space,” she told him fondly. “That's just how he is.”

Marcus just stared at her, so she went back to watching Lucifer and Trixie. Trixie was making her way across the bars. This time, she made it all the way across and jumped off the ladder on the other side of them into Lucifer's arms. He caught her and Chloe watched as he complained loudly to her daughter but made no move to put her down. 

When Trixie just yawned and settled her head on his shoulder, Lucifer walked back over to Chloe and Marcus. “Your hellspawn is tired, Detective,” Lucifer announced.

“Don’t call her that,” Chloe said, but without heat. She knew he meant it as a term of endearment. She led them to her car, and he set Trixie down, opening her door for her, placing a kiss to the top of her head as she climbed in. He opened Chloe's door for her as well. Marcus watching with a deep frown as she got in the car and rolled down her window. “Hey,” Chloe said, smiling gently, “thanks for meeting us today. Trix has really missed you; you haven't been around as much as usual.” 

Lucifer smiled gently in that self conscious way he had and said, “Yes, well.” He leaned into the window and placed a short kiss to her cheek. “Have a good night, Detective, Spawn,” he told them. He watched Chloe wave to Pierce and sighed as she drove off. 

Pierce turned to him with a frown, Lucifer stared back, unwilling to back down. The other man started his motorbike and drove away, leaving Lucifer to stand there, now even more unsure of his place in the Detective and her Spawn’s lives.

×××

The next time Lucifer saw the Spawn, it was at the precinct. He hadn't been around the Detective's home much (or her daughter) because he knew it would be awkward for her (and it hurt so much the last time he was there, Marcus Pierce practically chasing him out the door and the way he had stared him down at the park… He hadn't wanted to make the Detective’s life harder by hanging around).

She lit up when she saw him, breaking away from the Lieutenant who was holding her wrist instead of her hand (which struck him as odd, so he immediately went on alert). “Lucifer!” she greeted him, hugging him around the waist. 

His arms raised in surprise, and he gaped down at her for a moment. She hadn't greeted him like that in such a long time, that he hadn't realized how much he missed it until now. “Hello, child,” he replied automatically.

“Pick me up!” she told him, still grinning. She didn't let go of his waist until he lifted her into his arms, and she looped her arms around his neck. She started telling him about her day, and he listened intently.

She seemed absolutely content in his arms, ignoring everyone in favor of him. She was chattering away about a boy she had stopped from bullying a younger kid (“like when you scared my bully! Except my eyes didn't turn colors like yours did!”) when Pierce interrupted her, “Trixie, I thought we were gonna go get ice cream.”

Trixie tightened her arms around Lucifer’s neck and shook her head, quickly, now worryingly silent. Her demeanor had changed rapidly, making the dark haired man stand straighter and angle the little girl away from the other man. Ignoring Pierce, he brushed a strand of hair out of the little girl's face and asked, “Where's mum, darling?”

“I don't know,” she replied. “I was supposed to stay at her desk until she came back, but Mr. Marcus grabbed me and said mommy wouldn't mind if we went and got ice cream. But I didn't want to go, because mommy would worry.” She looked visibly upset, and Lucifer mindlessly traced her face with the tip of his finger, down her nose, across her cheek, and down the side of her face. She relaxed a little, but she didn't let go of his neck, and asked, “Can we go find mom?”

“Of course we can, dearest heart,” he replied, staring at Pierce like he was a deer and Lucifer was a wolf, ravenously hungry and desperate to kill. The other man shrank back, unaware of the target he had just placed on his own back and unsure if the primal fear he felt was because of the way Lucifer was staring at him or the thought of how angry with him Chloe would be. Lucifer waited for the other man to walk away, back towards the Detective's desk, before following. 

The Detective was looking around worriedly, but when she spotted them she relaxed. “Where'd you go, Monkey?” Chloe greeted them. She placed a hand on Lucifer's arm as if to thank him for bringing her daughter back to her. 

“Mr. Marcus tried to take me to go get ice cream, but I wanted to stay here because you would worry and then I found Lucifer! And, look, mom, he gave me a hug and didn't even complain about it!” the little girl babbled. 

Chloe looked at Lucifer, expecting him to be frowning playfully or pouting, but he was staring at Marcus like the man was someone to be wary of, that if he came too close to the little girl in his arms, he would find himself on the floor, barely breathing and bleeding from every possible orifice (more than a few of them devil-made, no doubt).

“Did you say Mr. Marcus tried to take you?” Chloe asked her daughter, now intent on finding answers.

“Yeah,” Trixie said, brow furrowing, “but I saw Lucifer and ran to him.”

Lucifer brought his hand up and traced her daughter's face again, like it was second nature, instinct. He hadn't looked away from the other man, mouth almost lifting into a silent snarl.

“Chloe, it wasn't like that, I swear!” Marcus said. “I just wanted to get to know her, and I should've asked first, I'm sorry.”

Marcus stepped closer and the sound that tore from Lucifer's throat sounded so primal and instilled such fear in the other man (and those around them) that he (and those around them) visibly flinched and backed away a few steps. Lucifer's teeth were barred and he was growling, actually growling like a savage, angry wolf. Trixie and Chloe hadn't even flinched, the little girl feeling content and safe in his arms, and the Detective just raising an eyebrow at the two men. She knew Lucifer well enough that he wasn't messing around, wasn't trying to stake a claim on her or her daughter. This was a legitimate reaction.

“We'll talk about this later, Marcus,” she told him. Her eyes were still on Lucifer, who was holding her daughter as far away from the other man as he could manage and was still growling. Chloe placed a hand on his arm and the growling cut off immediately, like it was stuck in his throat.

Lucifer only marginally relaxed when the other man walked away. He was still on edge and he still hadn't put her daughter down, looked like it was the last thing he wanted to do as long as Pierce was still around. 

“You got homework, Trix?” Chloe asked, trying to focus on anything but the fact that her boyfriend had almost kidnapped her daughter.

“Yeah, but it's Friday…” came the unenthusiastic reply.

She gave her daughter a look that implied she'd better get on it, they'd be there for a while yet and Trixie had always done her weekend homework on Fridays, but Lucifer refused to put her down when she'd tried to slip out of his arms. Instead, he sat with the little girl in his lap and let her work on her homework like that, occasionally helping her when she needed it. It worked out well for her, because she could focus completely on her paperwork. 

When it was time to go, Lucifer carried Trixie out to the car for her. She could tell that Lucifer didn't want to leave them, felt like they needed to be protected, and usually she would tell him to back off, but today… She was shaken and she knew he was too, so she asked if he’d like to come over for pizza and movies. 

He followed her in his corvette, and he didn't even make any impatient motions at her through the rearview mirror, not playfully or otherwise. It was like another part of his personality had been unlocked. And she had kind of already seen bits and pieces of this side of him, when she was hurt or he was worried for her safety. She had never seen it in such presence before, but she had known it was there. It seemed that Lucifer's care for her daughter was greater than she'd thought.

He pulled into the parking spot next to her and picked up her daughter protectively when she got out of the car. The little girl didn't seem to mind, her favorite thing in the world next to chocolate cake was cuddles. And if they came from her favorite person in the whole world, then all the better (Maze had been rather mean to her, which meant Lucifer quickly became her favorite again). He even made sure that the door was locked behind them once they were inside. He hadn't said a word since they'd left the precinct, and it was worrying Chloe just a little.

“Hey, Monkey, why don't you go get comfy and Lucifer and I will order pizza,” she suggested. 

“Extra cheese and pepperoni?” Trixie asked as she slid out of Lucifer's arms.

“Yeah, babe,” Chloe replied absently. She smiled after her daughter as she cheered in victory and called the pizza place. She watched Lucifer as she placed her order. He was patrolling, it seemed like, checking on all the windows, making sure no one could see in, that no one was there already. 

She hung up and sighed, catching his attention. His eyes were intense, they were always intense, but they seemed more so at this moment. “Lucifer, she's okay. She's fine, and we're all safe,” she told him. 

He looked at her, took a deep breath and nodded, “I know…”

“You can relax,” she told him, stepping closer, placing a hand on his arm.

He shook his head, and stared past her shoulder. “She was terrified,” he told her quietly. “She was so scared of him and he was- I could've ripped him apa-” he cut himself off, huffing out a breath of frustration. “She… I promised to protect her, darling, and I will.”

“When did you promise her that?” she asked, sliding deeper into his space. 

His brow furrowed and he looked away, “My mother used to comfort us when we were younger… she'd trace our features, like this,” and he traced his index finger down her nose, across her face, and down her cheek, “and then she’d tell us that she would protect us for as long as we needed it…”

“You've been doing that for her,” she said. She'd seen him do it, had wondered why he'd done it, wondered if it meant anything. 

“Yes,” he replied.

She watched him, he wouldn't look at her, but she knew he was listening to her. “You’ve just promised the same to me haven't you? Now that you've done that?” she asked quietly.

His breath caught and he met her eyes. His were so intense, so still that it made her breath catch. He didn't say anything, just stared at her until Trixie hugged his waist again. His hand went immediately to her head, stroking her hair. “Can we watch movies and build a pillow fort?” she was practically vibrating against him in excitement. 

Chloe smiled, “Sure, Monkey! Why don't you show Lucifer how its done?”

She frowned after them when he let her daughter pull him away with no comment. Nothing about how he didn’t need to be shown how to do anything, and he could do perfectly fine on his own, thank you. He was still shaken, still off balance by what Marcus had almost done. She was too, she knew that she wouldn't be sleeping easy tonight, that she would probably have Lucifer stay the night. Because that's what partners were for, they watched your back, and she thought that maybe, with him near her, near them (protecting them, just like he'd promised), she would get some sleep. 

The doorbell rang. Lucifer was on his feet before Chloe could react. He made his way to the door and when he opened it (just a crack, really) his expression became murderous and he growled a growl that made the room shake. He slipped out the door and Chloe quickly followed him out when she realized what that meant.

“Lucifer,” she said firmly. He held Marcus up in the air by the throat, and turned his head minutely in her direction when she said his name. “Put him down.” He did, but he didn't let go of his neck and she didn't tell him to. To Marcus she said, “I told you I’d talk to you later; you need to leave.”

“I just wanted to explain,” he managed to choke out. 

“I don't want you to explain, I want you to leave,” Chloe replied, turning to walk back into the house. Before she slipped through the door she turned back to them. “Lucifer, make sure he leaves but don't hurt him unless you have to,” she said firmly, knowing that at that moment, he would follow any order she gave him. She went back inside, so she wouldn't see or hear what happened. What she did see was her daughter, hugging a pillow and looking very scared.

“Is that Mr. Marcus?” she asked, and Chloe’s heart broke. “Is he gonna hurt Lucifer?”

Chloe gathered Trixie in her arms and told her, “Yeah, it was, but Lucifer's making him leave right now, okay, baby?” Trixie nodded and asked again if Lucifer was going to get hurt. “I don't think so, Monkey, you know how strong he is.”

Lucifer chose that moment to walk through the door, straightening the lines of his suit as he went. He didn't have a mark on him, but Chloe saw him rub at his ribs as he made his way over to them. “He’s gone,” he told them.

“Promise?” Trixie asked. “And you're not hurt?”

Lucifer sat next to them, Trixie climbed into his lap immediately, and he traced her face to wipe the furrow from her brow. “I promise you he's gone, dearest heart,” he told her as she hugged him around the waist. 

He tried not to let either of them see how much it hurt for her to hug him around the middle, but he saw Chloe watching him with a frown and knew he had failed. She wouldn't bring it up around her daughter, that much he knew. “Are you sure we have enough pillows?” he asked the little girl, stroking her hair as she squeezed him tight.

She nodded against him. “Now we just need to make the roof. And we need the chairs for that,” she told him, but she didn't move. 

After a long moment, Chloe urged her daughter to help her get the chairs. As the three of them were setting up the chairs and blankets, the doorbell rang again and Lucifer was at the door immediately. He peeked through the crack as he opened it and relaxed minutely as he realized it was the pizza guy. He handed the kid a hundred dollar bill and told him to keep the change. 

“Pizza time!” Trixie exclaimed as she saw him set the boxes on the coffee table.

Chloe smiled at her daughter as she bounced around Lucifer. He was watching the little girl like she had grown a second head. He made eye contact with Chloe, like he wasn't sure how to proceed. She grinned at him, and asked, “Trix, pick out a movie and I'll get the plates, okay?”

The little girl cheered and ran off to pick out a dvd. Lucifer watched her with a strange sort of fascination, like he was seeing her for the first time. Lucifer had never seen Trixie quite this excited before, not over pizza and movies (she wouldn't tell him it was because he was here, he'd only freak out).

Lucifer loaded up the plates the Detective brought him with pizza and they all settled inside the pillow fort, ready for their movie. Most of them were ready, but Lucifer was reluctant. 

The Spawn excitedly started the movie, and Lucifer tuned out anything that didn't have to do with protecting the Detective and her daughter. He spent more time watching the windows and listening for the door than actually being present with them. He was aware of their movements, that they were both leaning against him, that Beatrice was snuggled into his arms, but it wasn't his focus.

Hours later, he didn't know how many, the spawn had fallen asleep, and the Detective slipped her from his arms and carried her to bed. At that very moment, there was a movement at the patio door, and Lucifer was there in seconds. It was a stray cat. Lucifer made himself relax, or relax as much as he could considering the circumstances.

He did another round of the house, checking the windows and doors. He heard the Detective behind him and turned away from the window he was checking for the third time in the last five minutes. She was cleaning up their pillow fort as if on auto pilot. He watched her as she worked, her brow furrowed and her mind was elsewhere. He held himself back from stepping into her space and soothing the furrow from her brow. 

When the couch was reassembled, she sat and patted the cushion next to her in invitation. He wasn't sure he was going to sit, the option of going outside and patrolling the perimeter of the apartment tempting him for a long moment. Before he could settle on that, Chloe patted the cushion again and called his name softly. As he sat, she watched him carefully, noticing how he never fully relaxed even as he leaned back in his seat. 

“Lucifer,” she began, and trailed off, biting her lip. “Was she in danger?” she finally asked.

Lucifer looked down at his hands, idly playing with his fingers. “She was frightened… He was holding her by the wrist, dragging her. I don't know if he was going to hurt her, but she certainly didn't want to go with him…” he told her. There was a short silence between them before he filled it, almost anxiously. “I will admit that I may have overreacted, darling, but… she was terrified! And I couldn't… I promised to protect her…”

Chloe placed her hand on his arm, to comfort him. “I know…” she sighed. 

“He probably wouldn't have hurt her,” Lucifer growled out, like he couldn't stand the thought of Marcus anywhere near Trixie, “it's just… the fact that she…” He huffed out a long, frustrated breath, “If he ever does anything like that again, Detective, he'll be closer to death than he ever has been before.”

Chloe knew that he wasn't kidding, and he definitely wasn't exaggerating. She had seen the expression he had when Marcus came too close in the precinct earlier. She had never really seen him look as dangerous as he had then. “I never thought he'd try something like that…” she sighed. “He said he wanted to get to know her… but I wouldn't have allowed him to take her anywhere alone! And after today… I don't trust him anymore, Lucifer.”

Lucifer placed a hand on her shoulder. “I wouldn't either, Detective,” he said softly. With a sigh, he pulled away from her. “I don't think she was overly fond of him before tonight, darling. If it helps.”

Chloe huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, she wanted nothing to do with him at the park,” she told him. “Every time he spoke to her she just stared at him like Maze does when she's not listening and doesn't care.” He offered her a chuckle, and she offered him a smile in return. “I didn't know why I didn't follow her lead… She immediately loved you, you know?” she asked him. When he shook his head she smiled, “She never talks to strangers, no matter what. But she told me she talked to you… and then when Dan and I were arguing and you only cared about her, how we were effecting her. That stuck with her I think…”

Lucifer looked down at his hands. “I've become quite fond of her… She's very clever, and much more tolerable than any other small humans,” he told her quietly like he didn't want anyone to know what he felt.

Chloe grinned at him, “I was so surprised when she hugged you at the hospital after I got shot. She barely even knew you but…” Her eyes filled with tears. “I never had any doubts about leaving her with you. Even then I knew you'd do anything to keep her safe, even if you taught her bad words or how to make ‘proper deals’…”

Finally, Lucifer pulled her into his arms. She let herself cry into his shoulder for a moment, taking comfort from him. He didn't shush her or offer her any comforts, just held her for a long moment. When she pulled away from him, he told her, “I'd die to keep the both of you safe.”

She nodded, “I know… and that scares me a little, because I… we need you… Trixie would be devastated if anything happened to you. I would be too. I just...” She sighed heavily, “Just try to stay alive for us, okay?” She offered him a small, trembling smile, like she was trying to make the conversation lighter. He just watched her, unwilling to tell her how he had already died for her, how he would as many times as he needed to. When he didn't respond, she sighed and asked him about his ribs.

“Cracked, probably,” he sighed. “I'll heal soon enough, darling.” 

“That wasn't a very long fight,” Chloe told him.

“He threw the first punch,” he told her, waving his hand as if to swat at a bug. “I may have broken his jaw, darling, but I don't think anyone will notice.” When Chloe raised a brow at him, he also told her, “And perhaps broke a few of his ribs. And his arm but that was only because he kept trying to get to the door. He's persistent if nothing else.”

Chloe just put her face in her hands, “That's why you've been so on edge? You think he'll try and come back?” She hadn't wanted know what else he'd done to the man, she had meant to admonish him for saying no one would notice the other man's broken jaw, but this was Lucifer she was talking to.

“He seems the type,” Lucifer practically growled. “I could call up one of the hounds to keep watch. I'd certainly feel better with one of them around.”

“Hounds?” She asked, almost afraid of the answer he'd give her.

“Hellhounds, darling,” he told her, focused more on the front door and windows than on her. When she scoffed in disbelief, he turned to her. “Do you mind if I call one? He'll stay outside if you like.”

“You're serious?” she asked him. She didn't even know he liked dogs, much less had them.

“If you're alright with it,” he told her, and then his head snapped towards the front door. He was there in half a second, his hand laying on the door, body tense, and growl building. 

He was set to attack, and was ready to defend her and her daughter until the threat was gone. So, on impulse, she agreed to a ‘hound'. His growl gradually rolled to a stop and his shoulders relaxed minutely. He brought his fingers up to his mouth and whistled, short and sharp. Chloe was about to ask what the hell that was about when she heard a long, bone chilling howl, a snarl, and a yelp of terror and a scream of pain just outside the door.

Lucifer opened the door and peeked out. He smirked when he saw what happened. “Met Old Shuck have you?” he chuckled darkly. “Go, Peirce, before I forget who my father is and what his rules are and allow my pet to rip you to shreds and eat you.”

“Lucifer,” Chloe warns from behind him. She had walked up to him when he'd opened the door, curious to see what was happening. 

“It's alright, Detective, he'll only eat him alive if I allow it,” Lucifer told her. 

She muttered to him that that really wasn't the point, but called over Lucifer's shoulder, because when she’d tried to edge past him he hadn't budged at all, “Marcus, you have to leave. I will talk to you tomorrow at work, but I will have a restraining order put out on you if you don't leave now.”

Old Shuck let go of the lieutenant at Lucifer's order but growled and snarled viciously at him until he left the vicinity. They heard a motorcycle roar to life and fade into the distance. The dog, if it could be called that because it looked more like a wolf and a bear had very scary babies, wiggled in through the door and sat before Lucifer like he was waiting for a treat. Lucifer rolled his eyes and told the “mangy mutt” to “stay put”. Chloe watched as he pilfered through the fridge and gave the ‘dog' a few slices of sandwich meat.

“So this is a hellhound?” Chloe asked, and suddenly the dog's eyes were focused on her and they were red and glowing and she froze on the spot, feeling a little like this dog could eat her.

“Shuck!” Lucifer said sharply, and the dog went immediately to the floor, belly up and whining. “That's the Detective! Don't look at the Detective like you want to eat her! You treat her as you would me, understand?” When the dog whined and started wagging his tail, Lucifer rolled his eyes and pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket. “You've got blood on your muzzle, you monster,” he said as he wiped the dog's mouth. The handkerchief came away red and Chloe made a face. 

“Why is this dog treating me like I'm you?” Chloe asked, quietly, like she wasn't sure she wanted it to. 

“Why wouldn't he? He's in your home protecting you and your daughter,” Lucifer told her, like he thought she needed reminding. Then he looked at the beast and told him, “She has a daughter, you're to treat her as you would me and mine, is that clear?”

The dog whined again and inched closer to Chloe, like he thought she'd be more likely to pet him. So she came up beside Lucifer and offered her hand for Shuck to smell, and he sniffed it intently before nudging it towards his head for her to pet him. She scratched him behind the ear and thanked him softly for protecting her. The dog looked up at her in what seemed like awe before he looked to Lucifer and yipped excitedly, his tail thumping wildly against the floor.

“Mommy? I heard some weird noises; Did Mr. Marcus come back?” they heard from the hallway. The thumping of Shucks tail became more frantic and he whined like he was trying very hard to be a very good boy. When Trixie set foot in the living room and caught sight of the dog she broke into a grin. “Lucifer is this your dog? What's his name?” she asked rushing forward to greet him. Shuck sat perfectly still, practically vibrating with excitement, while she pet him and called him cute.

“His name is Old Shuck,” Lucifer began, his tone firm and Shuck licked the little girl's cheek before moving to stand in front of his master. “He's here to protect you and your mother.”

Trixie grinned and told the both of them ‘goodnight' as her mother carried her back to bed.

Lucifer rolled his eyes and opened the door motioning with his head for the beast to exit. “Come on, keep watch, make sure he doesn't come back or have anyone come by on his behalf,” Lucifer told him, patting his head gently. “Keep them safe, old boy.”

He relaxed his shoulders as he closed and locked the door. When there were no sounds from outside, he sat on the couch and relaxed even more, his head leaning back and eyes closing. He didn't know how long he sat like that, but he felt Chloe return. Before he could open his eyes, she traced his face, just like his mother used to do for him, just as he had been doing for Beatrice. His eyes snapped open and he just looked at her, his expression one of awe and complete confusion. Why would she want to protect him? Him of all beings, the Devil? “What-” he began, “how- Detective…”

She smiled infinitely gentle and just for him. “You need protecting too,” she said, her voice was soft and steady. “We can protect each other…” 

He stared at her like he didn't understand why she would want to protect him, why she would want anything to do with him. But she did, it seemed. Eventually, when she was nodding off against his shoulder, he sent her upstairs with the promise that he and Old Shuck had everything under control. She had told him that he could bring the “dog” inside, but he felt better with the hound defending the perimeter. 

The next morning, Chloe came down the stairs expecting Lucifer to be asleep on the couch, instead he's at the window watching whatever's outside very intently. As soon as she stepped into the living room, he turned to her and offered her a tired smile. “Anything else happen last night?” she asked.

He sighed and nodded, “Shuck had to chase someone off after you went to bed. Not Pierce, but a lackey of some sort. Seemed the criminal type, so the old pup had no problem chasing him down.” He sighed again, and led her to the kitchen where he flipped on the coffee machine and started rummaging through her fridge. She realized, belatedly, that he was making them breakfast. She was about to tell him that he didn't have to when Trixie came out of her room rubbing her eyes. She walked straight over to Lucifer, hugged him around the middle, and said to him, “Eggs and bacon? You promised to make them…”

His expression softened as he looked down at her, and Chloe hadn't thought he'd tolerate her daughter's sleepy, clingy state (ever since Maze had hurt her feelings she'd latched on tighter to those around her, especially in the mornings). “Yes, dearest heart,” he told her softly, and then shooed her away towards her mother. He placed a glass of juice in front of her and a mug of coffee in front of Chloe. 

She watched him cook them breakfast with a soft smile. It reminded her of how they used to be, before everything became complicated and awkward between them. They'd both been at fault there, the both of them insecure and hurting, unwilling or unable to talk about any of it. 

He placed their plates in front of them and finally, relaxed as he sat at the table with them. When Trixie was sent to get ready for school, Lucifer asked Chloe if she'd like Old Shuck to accompany her daughter to school. Chloe looked at him strangely, but when he just said that “the old boy can be discrete” she just told him that if he thought he could get away with it, then sure. He let the dog in, and fed it more than a few strips of bacon and a lot of eggs. She was making sure Trixie was ready when she heard Lucifer telling the dog, “You'll have to keep yourself out of sight, Old Boy, no funny business, and don't attack anyone unless their going to take her and they smell like the men from last night, alright?” The dog grumbled his understanding, or so it seemed to Chloe (because obviously that's not how dogs worked), and gave a open mouthed happy dog smile as Lucifer scratched behind his ear. 

Trixie was excited about having a dog at school with her, and couldn't help hugging the big wolf-bear in her excitement. The animal didn't seem to mind, and was soaking up the affection and wagging his tail so vigorously against the floor that it sounded painful. Even Lucifer gave the dog a strange look.

With the two of them off to school and Lucifer back to Lux for a new suit and a shower, Chloe made her way to work, wondering if she should wait for Lucifer to arrive before talking to Marcus. In the end, it seemed waiting wasn't in the cards because Marcus was waiting by her usual parking spot for her. Instead of rushing into a conversation with the Lieutenant, she kept her car doors locked while she dialed Lucifer's number. He picked up on the second ring.

“Hey,” she said softly in response to his enthusiastic greeting. “Just wanted you to know that-” and she broke off to stare at Marcus incredulously as he tried to open her locked door for her three times in a row. With increasing intensity. When he finally stopped and just stared at her unrelentingly through the window, she watched him warily.

“What, darling?” Lucifer asked, seemingly losing his patience (but not with her, as far as she could tell). Or at the very least he heard the sounds Pierce had been making and he's trying not to fly off the handle.

“Marcus was, is, waiting for me in the parking garage, and he just tried to open my door…” she told him. Before he could reply, she made sure to tell him, “He couldn't open it, and now he's standing here waiting for me to get out. I thought about talking to him without you, but this… It's like he wants to get me alone, Lucifer…”

There's a faint growl over the phone, but it cut off, and then Lucifer told her, “Two minutes, darling.”

He was standing in front of the car door after only a minute and a half. He pushed the other man far enough away for Chloe to safely open the door. “Your office, now,” she told Marcus, and then she gripped Lucifer's arm and tugged him away from the lieutenant.

She tugged Lucifer into the office with her, and waited until Marcus walked in and closed the door to begin. “What you did yesterday was unacceptable. You don't have the right, and I don't know you well enough to let you be alone with my daughter,” she said he voice firm. When he tried to interrupt, she held up a hand, and said, “I don't want to hear it. I didn't let Lucifer be alone with Trixie until I was sure I knew him, really knew him. You will never come near my daughter again. We're over, Marcus.”

She turned to walk away, Lucifer at her heels, when Marcus growled in frustration, “You didn't let me explain!” He looked like it was painful for him to talk.

Chloe just turned back to him, calm and collected, and said, “I don't need to. She was terrified! She didn't even want to go with you!” She shook her head at him. “And you didn't even care about that! About her! So I don't need an explanation, Marcus. I need you to stay away from my daughter.”

She walked out and held the door open for Lucifer, but he was watching the lieutenant carefully and with a predatory intensity. “If you ever do anything like that again, I will tear you to pieces and feed them to my hounds. And then, when you've… regenerated, I'll have them tear you apart over and over until you can't tell how many times its been done to you,” Lucifer said calmly, like he was talking about the weather. Chloe was about to reach out to reign him in, when he continued, “You've felt their bite… you know how much it burns.” He walked out after that, and Chloe watched Marcus’s face drain of color and his eyes fill with fear. Or something close to it. She'd never seen Pierce scared before.

She caught up with Lucifer and said to him, “I had it handled.”

“Yes,” Lucifer told her, “and you handled it very well. He knew you were serious, and had decided, by then that he shouldn't fight you on it.”

“Then why did you… say all that?” she asked him. She wasn't going to get into the fact that he sounded crazy, or that Marcus had seemed to believe him. Which was insane.

Lucifer grinned wolfishly. “For my own peace of mind, of course. Consider it an insurance policy, Detective!” he said, his grin becoming more of a smirk at this point.

So she rolled her eyes fondly at him, and told him to get Ella so that they could go over the evidence one more time. He walked away, his usual exuberance back in place which made her smile. She was glad that yesterday was over. She really wasn't looking forward to telling her daughter that she couldn't keep the big, scary dog-bear. She'd make Lucifer do it, but she knew from experience that he'd just give into Trixie's puppy dog eyes and pout. She smiled at him fondly when he appeared with Ella around her desk. She’d really missed him over the past few months.

Lucifer smiled down at her as she smiled at him. He'd missed her these past few months... Now, all he had for her was time; he could only hope she had some for him too.


End file.
